DEA head Chuck Rosenberg recently made some insensitive, unscientific comments about medical marijuana that demonstrated just how little compassion he has for suffering patients in this country. Below are Chuck Rosenberg’s comments, via the Huffington Post:
“What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal — because it’s not,” Rosenberg told reporters last week. “We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don’t call it medicine — that is a joke.
“There are pieces of marijuana — extracts or constituents or component parts — that have great promise,” he continued. “But if you talk about smoking the leaf of marijuana, which is what people are talking about when they talk about medicinal marijuana, it has never been shown to be safe or effective as medicine.”
In reaction to those comments, the Marijuana Majority created a petition calling for the termination of Chuck Rosenberg. Below is the language of the petition (which can be signed at this link here):
Chuck Rosenberg, acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), just made highly offensive comments calling medical marijuana a “joke.”
While it’s nothing new for drug war bureaucrats to oppose sensible marijuana policies, Rosenberg’s comments go way too far.
Medical marijuana is not a “joke” to the millions of seriously ill patients in a growing number of states who use it legally in accordance with doctors’ recommendations.
It is not a “joke” to the growing number of prominent medical organizations — American Nurses Association, American College of Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians, for example — who know that cannabis has real and proven medical benefits.
And it’s not a “joke” to the clear majority of U.S voters who support passing laws to protect medical marijuana patients from harassment by police and the DEA.
President Obama should fire Chuck Rosenberg and appoint a new DEA administrator who will respect science, medicine, patients and voters.
LETTER TO
Barack Obama“Fire DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg for referring to medical marijuana, which many seriously ill people rely on, as a “joke.”
As of this blog post, 76,302 people have signed the petition. Singer/songwriter, and cancer survivor, Melissa Etheridge signed the petition, and you should too. You should also donate to the Marijuana Majority so that they can continue to do great work like this. Tom Angell is an activism manchild, and you better believe that if/when I ever get money, I’m backing him as much as I can because of his ability to do big things, like what he has been able to do with bringing awareness to this issue and petition.
